Impress Me Not: Neon Underground

Chapter 58

"Thankfully, it's not too big of a problem," Solomon told him. "I have the part in my truck. Should take about an hour to do, as long as the rain doesn't come back."

"Alright," Melvin nodded. "Do you want the money right now or do you want to wait until after your hands get dirty?"

"You act like your money isn't full of germs," The repair man said. He had long curly hair that was almost as dark as the night. It was up in a thick bun while he worked, but there were still some strands that had managed to fall out. "I'll wait until after, Mel. Just in case I find another problem that winds up costing you extra."

"Remind me to get you some free drinks next time you come down here," he said. Solomon wasn't so much of a friend of his, but they had known each other. He was close to Anton, of course. But it was his ex-husband that Melvin had known the most.

"You act like I'm a regular customer," Solomon laughed.

"Maybe you should be," he told him. "You should bring your new boyfriend around here. Show him a wilder side."

"Niko isn't that new of a boyfriend," Solomon shook his head. "He's actually over there, if you want to say hi."

"Has he been following you all night?" Melvin asked, looking over to the man by the bar. He wasn't drinking. Instead, he was glancing over to Solomon every few minutes. It was cute to see someone fawning over the repair man. Solomon had been the type that many wanted, but only few would get. Melvin admired that about him.

"He's been keeping me entertained in between jobs," Solomon grabbed his tool bag and lifted it onto his shoulders. "Try not to scare him too much while I'm gone."

"No promises," he joked, watching the repair man walk outside. Of course, he wasn't going to try and scare him. But there were many people who felt strange and awkward in a place like this. If they weren't used to this kind of culture, most of the time it was a bit nerve wracking at first.

"I mean, I've heard of this place," Niko was talking to Alex. "I've just never been inside."

She had stayed there to help out with some more of the customers. A few of the workers weren't able to come in because of some road closures. Melvin was glad that he had her to work a little more when he needed her to.

"You should ask Solomon to bring you sometime," Melvin sat next to him. "I'll give you guys a discount on any of our services."

"I'll have to talk to him about it," Niko said. With brown hair and a silk shirt, it didn't take much for Melvin to guess that he was one of the wealthy that lived in this small city. "Are you the owner?"

"Yes," he shook his hand. "Melvin Vahn. And you must be the new boyfriend I've been hearing about."

"We've been dating for a few years now," Niko shook his head. "I wouldn't exactly call it new."

"Oh, now you're making me feel old," Alex said. "I still remember when he would come in with Somner and they'd both drink and complain about their parents together."

"Solomon used to come here?" Niko asked, shocked.

"It was before we had a lot of the extra things you see now," Melvin told him. "And most of the time it was to get Somner and drag him out of there."

Somner would get heavy into drinking around tax season. He was an accountant, and his busiest season was when everyone needed their taxes done. He wasn't the kinky type. He really just went there for the drinks. Melvin had some interesting conversations with him on the slow nights.

"I didn't think he was a drinker," Niko said. "Solomon barely drinks now."

"You're a good influence on him," Melvin grabbed a water bottle from behind the bar. "So," he opened it and took a swig. "When are you going to propose?"